Turtle grass

Description:

A pre-Kindergarten nursey to many marine reef species and an entree to turtles, turtle grass surrounds a good portion of the shore line surrounding Long Caye Island of the Lighthouse Reef Atoll.

Habitat:

Extensive beds of the grass are found in the protected, shallow beds in many of the reef areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

Notes:

Sprecies observed in the turtle grass were, southern ray, damsel and grunt fish, barricuda, sea anomone and brain coral. The Smithsonian article (sms.si.edu) is very informative. Great picture in EOL. Photo taken by staff and students of Brookhaven Geospatial Program during field trip to characterize the envoironment of a atoll island.